There is a particular kind of honesty to the restaurants on the Best Eats by FoodieS 2026 Casual Dining list. These are not restaurants built around a concept or an investor deck. They are built around a dish, a recipe, a conviction — and in many cases, a family. 

From a fish porridge stall in Pontianak that has been run by the same hands since 1983, to a Korean-style patisserie in Jakarta reworking Basque cheesecakes in small daily batches, the 30 winners in this category represent the full, diverse, and deeply personal nature of eating well in Indonesia.

Best Casual Dining in Jakarta

Jakarta’s casual dining scene on this year’s list is as layered as the city itself. Angke Restaurant, a Chinese Hakka institution since 1965, sits on the same list as Fragments, a Korean-style patisserie in the city reworking familiar classics — Basque cheesecakes, Korean-style bagel sandwiches, flavoured financiers — in small daily batches. Ayam Goreng Bandung Bu Iyin brings the wet-style bumbu kuning fried chicken of Bandung to the capital, built from a small Bintaro kiosk that quietly became one of the city’s most devoted queues. 

B3 Baker Butcher Barista by MDA Restaurants operates as a bakery by morning and a steakhouse by night. Bakmi Tiga Marga in Permata Hijau keeps it simpler still — homemade chicken and pork noodles, no preservatives, and a bowl that tastes like memory.

LC Smokehouse has been serving slow-smoked wagyu and American BBQ in Menteng since 2020, while LIT Bakehouse bakes French pastries daily in small batches from an alley in Glodok that has made it a neighbourhood staple. LUC Coffee, with several venues across the city, has built a reputation for specialty coffee and honest food in a format that invites you to stay. Mata Karanjang in South Jakarta remains one of the city’s most beloved destinations for Minahasan cuisine — bold spices and the layered heat of North Sulawesi on a plate.

Sate Kambing Putri Hanjawar carries a Puncak family recipe to Dharmawangsa, charcoal-grilled and sweet-soy-smoked. Supagetti in Prapanca seats 16 guests across two seatings a night, reservation only, for an Itameshi menu — Japanese technique applied to Italian pasta in one of Jakarta’s most quietly original concepts. Supper Sandwich & Burger in Cipete is the city’s answer to a proper Brooklyn diner. 

Warung Pak Chandra at Grand Wijaya feeds a small number of guests at a time with a half-Thai, half-Indonesian kitchen run on memory and instinct. Warung SCI Prikphun Manow in Kelapa Gading has been serving Thai-Peranakan seafood from a daily changing menu since 2013.

Best Casual Dining in Bali

In Bali, the 2026 Casual Dining list spans Seminyak, Canggu, Pererenan, and the remote fishing village of Desa Les in North Bali. 32do in Seminyak is a Korean-inspired café where the architecture — stone walls, water features, an oval skylight — is as considered as the house-roasted coffee and handcrafted chocolates. Barō Bakery, which started in Pererenan as an artisan sourdough operation, has grown into a full restaurant and pizzeria still anchored by heritage ancient grains and honest breadmaking. 

Dapur Bali Mula in Desa Les is perhaps the list’s most singular entry: Chef Jero Yudi lights a wood fire each morning and cooks a meal that invites guests into the quiet, unhurried charm of Northern Bali — no fixed menu, no fixed price. FED By Made in Seminyak was built by a young team of Balinese who carried Melbourne’s food culture back home, serving modern produce-driven dishes alongside natural wines. 

Foci Bakery in Ubud has built a loyal following around sourdough focaccia and small-batch baked goods. Rumah Makan Babi Guling Karya Rebo in Kedonganan, Kuta, has earned a quiet authority in Bali’s suckling pig landscape — crispy skin, sate babi, lawar, sambal matah, no frills. Warung Babi Guling Sari Dewi Bp. Dobil, founded in 1982 by Ketut Dobil in Nusa Dua, is one of the island’s longest-standing babi guling destinations.

Best Casual Dining in Bandung

Bandung contributes three entries to the Casual Dining list. BMB Canteen by BBQ Mountain Boys is an open-kitchen Western canteen known for sourdough sandwiches and bold comfort food. Brother Chang follows the spice trail from Singapore to Malaysia to Vietnam in a pan-Asian kitchen served beneath the atmosphere of old Shanghai. Pipinos Bakery & Restaurant, which began as an online cookie business, now serves a New American menu in Ciumbuleuit where creative cooking and pastry share the same table.

Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Solo & Beyond

Beyond Java’s two major cities, the Casual Dining list reaches further. In Surabaya, Bebek Tumapel Mbak Roh has been serving what many call the champion duck of the city — bebek goreng in black spice bumbu, open only until 5pm. In Yogyakarta, Gudeg Bromo Bu Tekluk has been feeding the city from midnight to 5am since 1984, serving a spicier, less sweet gudeg with sambal krecek made from buffalo skin. 

]Sop Sapi Minarwati, named after the founder’s mother, travels from Pasar Kranggan in Yogyakarta to Cipete with a single recipe: beef slow-cooked for 12 hours in cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and a secret spice. In Solo, Sate Kambing & Thengkleng Rica-Rica Pak Manto, founded in 1990, serves the singular result of Javanese thengkleng meeting Manadonese rica-rica. 

In Tangerang Selatan, Putera Lombok brings Ayam Taliwang, Sate Rembiga, and Plecing Kangkung — all prepared with chillies and produce imported directly from Lombok. And in Pontianak, Bubur Ikan Ahian has been cooked by Ko Ahian himself since 1983: fresh-filleted seasonal fish in a light broth poured over rice, a dish so tied to the city that a visit without it is considered incomplete.